Olive oil

The first olive trees that made it to the Iberian Peninsula did it by sea, on Phoenician boats. They were only passing through to trade. Later, the Romans extended olive groves throughout the land that will end up belonging to the Mediterranean triad: vine, olive trees and cereal. Olive trees are part of the landscape of Catalonia and in some cases living witnesses of its history in the most literal sense of the word. In the Godall mountain range, for example, next to the ancient Roman Augusta road, we can see a thousand-year-old olive tree that according to studies began to germinate in the year 314 of our era. There it has remained, watching humanity’s progress to this day. But is not the only one, Catalonia has catalogued numerous millennial olive trees, scattered from the Cap de Creus to the Delta de l’Ebre. And if there are olives in the landscape, there is also olive oil in the table. There are 5 different olive oil appellations of origin (D.O.P. in Catalan) in Catalonia: Les Garrigues, Siurana, Oli Terra Alta, Oli del Baix Ebre-Montsià and Oli de l’Empordà.   Other regions, such as El Bages, La Noguera and El Baix Llobregat, are rediscovering old local varieties. In all this producing area is possible to visit old mills, where tastings and workshops are organised. Besides the production of excellent virgin olive oils, in the five D.O.P. numerous thematic fairs are organised, and different visitor and interpretation oil-specialised centres offer oil-tourism proposals and activities. In Terres de l’Ebre we can join the route of La Ruta de les Oliveres Milenaries, as the territory of Sénia has more than 4.500 millennial olive trees, and in the municipality of Ulldecona more than 1.300 are catalogued. On the other hand, in Horta de Sant Joan there is Lo Parot, a monumental tree that has turned into a symbol of the region. Other interesting visits are the Pinell de Brai, Gandesa or Falset cooperatives, located inside impressive modernist buildings. There are also some family-owned companies that work on the production of oil-made beauty products.